Shutdown averted
’Twas the night before shutdown, and all through the House, a funding bill passed, assuaging all doubts.
The eleventh-hour deal to keep the government open passed the Senate early Saturday morning and was signed into law by President Joe Biden hours later.
The turmoil of the week previewed the legislative chaos that awaits Washington after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. Congress punted government funding for only three months, lengthening Trump’s already extensive to-do list for his first 100 days.
“I think it’s kind of stupid,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said of the new deadline. “Don’t ask me to explain or defend this dysfunction.”
The spending fight also showed the political influence of Elon Musk on Capitol Hill. In a fiery speech Sunday, Trump laughed off the idea that he has “ceded the presidency” to the tech billionaire.
“No, he’s not going to be president, that I can tell you,” Trump said. “And I’m safe. You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country.”
A suspect in German Christmas market attack ID’d as doctor with strong anti-Islamic views
A car plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market in eastern Germany on Friday, leaving five people dead and more than 200 injured, dozens of them critically. A 9-year-old boy was among those killed, along with women ages 52, 45, 67 and 75.
Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a self-described member of the “liberal opposition” to Saudi Arabia who has voiced strong anti-Islamic and anti-immigration views, faces five counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault. Al-Abdulmohsen was a doctor in Saudi Arabia before seeking asylum in Germany in 2016. His online activity includes inflammatory content on X against Islam, and he has aligned himself with Germany’s far-right anti-immigration party.
Police have not released a motive in the attack, but two senior U.S. officials told NBC News that authorities are investigating the incident as terrorism-related.
Parts of the U.S. will be dashing through the snow
Parts of the United States might miss out on a white Christmas this year, but at least they might have a white Christmas Eve.
A storm system is moving in across the Great Lakes and Northeast regions, bringing rain and snow in the days before Christmas. The interior Northeast, Michigan and Wisconsin are expected to receive anywhere between 2 to 6 inches of snow before Christmas Eve.
There’s currently no forecast for a white Christmas, as many areas will see melted white blankets by Wednesday.
It’s still likely that the storms will affect holiday travel, especially along I-95.
Uninsured while pregnant, she used a medical cost-sharing service. Her family was left in debt.
Rachel Kaplan was uninsured when she became pregnant last year. So her doctor suggested an alternative: a nonprofit called Sedera, which bills itself as a medical cost-sharing service where members pay monthly fees that are pooled for the organization’s use to reimburse members’ medical bills.
But when she and her husband reached out to Sedera for reimbursement after their son was born, they were denied. To the couple’s shock, they said, Sedera cited a policy in fine print that stated they were ineligible. The organization is what’s known as a “health care sharing ministry,” one of more than 100 such groups operating in the U.S., most of which are rooted in Christianity.
NBC News spoke to four families who were denied or struggled to get reimbursed by their health care sharing ministry for pregnancy or childbirth-related expenses. All felt they had been deceived and warned other expecting families not to join.
Politics in brief
‘Deep state’ reprisals: Intelligence officials have expressed fears that Kash Patel could seek criminal retribution if he is confirmed as FBI director, after he prepared a list of claimed “deep state” actors within government.
Lara out: Lara Trump, the president-elect’s daughter-in-law, has taken herself out of the running for the Senate seat expected to be vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio, instead teasing a “big announcement” next month.
Trump’s Indian American allies: When Donald Trump retakes the White House, he is likely be flanked by a large cohort of young Indian Americans — a demographic with growing influence in Republican politics.
Court condemned: Senate Democrats who investigated alleged ethical lapses on the Supreme Court have warned that the court “has mired itself in an ethical crisis of its own making,” calling for legislative reforms that incoming Republican leadership opposes.
▶️ America divided: Steve Kornacki joins a special edition of “Meet the Press” to look at how Americans have become more divided. Sen. Raphael Warnock says we must learn “how we can pray with one another rather than prey on one another.”
MLB Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson dies at 65
Rickey Henderson, the greatest base stealer in Major League Baseball history, has died at 65.
In a statement Saturday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred called Henderson the “gold standard of base stealing and leadoff hitting.” The Athletics called Henderson “undoubtedly the most legendary player in Oakland history.”
Nicknamed the “Man of Steal,” Henderson ranks first all time in both stolen bases, with 1,406, and runs scored, with 2,295. He made his MLB debut at just 20 years old, and after 10 All-Star appearances, World Series championships with Oakland and Toronto, and a career nearly beyond compare, his final MLB game came in 2003, at age 44.
Blake Lively accuses ‘It Ends With Us’ director of sexual harassment
Blake Lively filed a legal complaint accusing her “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and then trying to ruin her reputation after she expressed her concerns.
Lively’s complaint alleges Baldoni, who is also the film’s director, improvised physical intimacy that had not been previously rehearsed or discussed, and pressured her to “simulate full nudity” during one scene and didn’t close the set such that nonessential crew could “pass through while Ms. Lively was mostly nude.”
The film made headlines over the summer after fans suspected behind-the-scenes drama, zeroing in on the fact Baldoni was doing press separately from his co-stars. Lively’s complaint accuses Baldoni of hiring a crisis communications team to destroy her reputation during the film’s promotion.
An attorney representing Baldoni called all the allegations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
Countdown to Christmas
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for presents! For people struggling to celebrate the holidays on a budget, a handful of TikTok creators have ramped up content in the hopes of easing the stress — encouraging people to reject microtrends and focus on the things that they actually use and enjoy on a daily basis.
“I think on social media, sometimes it becomes normalized that every year you need to have a new Christmas aesthetic,” said one content creator posting more budget-conscious videos. “But I think for the majority of people, that’s just not realistic.”
Consumers have been choosier about spending this season overall, but young adults are splurging a bit on gifts for themselves. Nearly half of Gen Z and millennial consumers plan to buy gifts for themselves this holiday season, according to researchers at the consulting firm Deloitte.
In case you missed it
- The 15-year-old girl who killed two people and wounded others at a private Christian school in Wisconsin had a tumultuous home life, according to court documents obtained by NBC News.
- Lawmakers in the United Kingdom are wrestling with a decision to fast-track legislation aimed at preventing foreign interference in elections as Elon Musk flexes his political muscle in support of far-right parties.
- A missile dubbed “Palestine 2” by Houthi rebels in Yemen struck the Israeli city of Tel Aviv early Saturday morning, marking a rare instance of a failed interception over the city.
- The simmering threat of bird flu may be inching closer to boiling over, with experts warning that several indicators are “going in the wrong direction” despite efforts to contain the outbreak.
- Americans in rural areas live shorter lives, on average, than their urban counterparts, largely due to heart disease and strokes. That disparity is widening.
- Police around the world are using artificial intelligence-powered cameras to crack down on behavior like texting behind the wheel and driving without a seat belt.
- Bluesky is attracting millions of users fleeing Elon Musk’s X platform, but faces a tidal wave of scams, celebrity impersonation and thorny moderation issues.
- Restrictions on gender-affirming care proposed by Republicans could fuel a rise in eating disorders among transgender teens denied access to care, experts have warned.
- From “brat summer” to “hawk tuah,” NBC News rounded up some of the “very demure, very mindful” memes that defined 2024.